Wither to Bloom
by HazeleyeandHermione
Summary: Ten years after the deaths of their wives, Alfred and Arthur learn who the killer is. While their children find love in each other, can the two widows do the same?


Arthur was in bed, staring at the cold empty spot next to it. On his nightstand was a picture of a couple, the man had light blonde hair, thick eyebrows and emerald green eyes. The girl next to him was a stunning brunette with long cocoa-brown hair and a sweet green-blue gaze. He sighed as a tear rolled down his cheek. Another night without Louise; another cold, restless night followed by a morning with no beaming smile or hot pancakes on the table, Arthur saw no reason to get up. He merely laid there, his mind drifting back to the days where she could warm his heart.

_Arthur walked into the kitchen and saw the young woman over the stove. The aroma was delightful, yet he felt wrong having a woman cook for him. He wasn't the mind of man stuck in the medieval times. In fact, he was a gentleman and wanted to help out._

"_Louise!" He smiled, pulling his wife into a warm embrace. "You don't have to cook for me! I'm not like that…" He laughed._

"_I know I don't have to!" She smiled. "I want to!" She placed two tall stacks of pancakes on the table. "I made pancakes!" She beamed. "You like pancakes, right? I borrowed the recipe from Alfred's wife, Hailey. You know her, right?"_

_Arthur nodded, some of his blonde hair straying into his face. Louise smiled and tucked it behind his ear, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Louise… I love you." He smiled as she grabbed his tie and pulled him into a deep kiss._

"_I love you too, my King Arthur." Louise said, her pink lips forming a smile and a blush. She turned back to the stove, giving him a little wink while she continued cooking._

_**A few months later…**_

_Louise smiled as she sat down. She had put on some weight in the last couple weeks, but Arthur dare not tell her that. She helped herself to some of the roast she had made and proceeded to grab some of Arthur's infamous potatoes. There was excitement in her teal eyes._

"_So…" She started to ask, twiddling her thumbs. "What do you feel about raising a family?" _

_Arthur was dumbfounded by the thought. It must have shown on his face, because Louise started to look like she was ashamed to mention it. He tried to get rid of his awestruck impression. "A family… What a great idea!" He exclaimed. He wasn't _entirely _sure… After all, the last time he had raised a child, he had winded up going to war._

_Still Louise looked down and twiddled her thumbs again. "I'm glad you're happy with the thought because I…" She didn't need to finish her sentence. Arthur knew what she meant and hugged his expecting wife._

_**One year later…**_

_Louise and Arthur sat on the couch, carrying their daughter, Elizabeth. They smiled as her blue-green eyes were filled with innocence and laughed as she giggled her childish giggle. Then the two new parents' eyes met and were filled with as much love as ever._

_**Two years later…**_

_Arthur was at home, playing with Elizabeth and Alfred's son, George. Then the phone rang. A call Arthur would regret for the rest of his life. "Hello?" He answered. The rest was followed by slight noises and then an "Okay… I understand… Thanks for calling." He somberly hung up the phone, dismal depression in his emerald eyes._

_Alfred looked up with concern in his eyes. "What's wrong, Arthur?" He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder._

"_It's our wives… They're dead. Both of them were killed." They couldn't help it. Both of them started to sob uncontrollably._

It had been ten years since that day, probably why Arthur didn't want to wake up this morning. He had hardly been able to look at his daughter… She was the spitting image of Louise. Elizabeth had the same long, cocoa brown hair, same blue-green eyes. She was almost 13 now and had the same personality as his deceased wife. He heard a knock on the door. _I guess I _have _to get up now, _he thought with a sigh. It would a police officer with a bouquet of carnations in his hand.

"Are you Arthur Kirkland?" He asked. "You were the husband of Louise Kirkland?"

Arthur shook his head. "No." He said firmly. "I _am _the husband." After ten years, he still loved her and counted him as her husband. "Anyway, what is this about? Why have you come here?"

"I found out who killed your wife." He said in a monotone, no hint sympathy in his voice. "Her name is Natalia Arlovskaya." He held up a picture of a girl with dirty blonde hair and blue-violet eyes. "Her current whereabouts are unknown."

Arthur was feeling and odd mixture of relief and rage. He knew Natalia as Belarus, and they never really got on too well. Belarus was just the kind of girl you didn't really get along with. Of course, Arthur didn't think she would actually _murder _two people.

The phone rang again. He steadily picked it up and answered. "Hello?" There was a Spanish accent behind the phone.

"I took care of our incident, Arthur." The man said. He recognized it as Antonio, Louise's brother. "Vengeance has been sought out"

"What the bloody hell do you mean, Antonio?" Arthur asked his brother-in-law. "Dear Scott, what did you do?"

Antonio let out a laugh. "Me? Nothing, but Lovi wasn't too pleased after he found out who the murderer was. Turned out after we all found out, Natalia attacked him and let's just say… Don't sneak up on Romano. He stabbed her in the chest and let me say… Vengeance has been served. I need to go now, Arthur! Adios!"

Arthur dropped the phone in surprise. His and Alfred's wives' killer was killed by Lovino of all people. He heard another knock on the door. It was Alfred who had a mixture of ecstasy and sadness on his face.

"Did you hear the news?" He asked, "About Natalia and Lovino?"

Arthur nodded. "It was in self-defense but I know he could have spared her if he wanted…" He clenched his teeth at the thought of the murderous woman. "He didn't want to, not that she deserved it.

George ran into the living room and plopped down on the couch next to Elizabeth. They were in deep conversation about something Arthur didn't bother to listen to. He heard his 13-year old daughter laugh the damn-near exact way Louise did.

"Daddy may George and I go to the mall?" She asked, the strawberry-blonde boy sitting on the couch, doodling a very well-drawn rose that had the letters EK blooming out of it. Thinking for a brief second on what EK stood for, he shrugged and let go of the thought.

Natalia was dead; dead as a doornail. He had run into her a year or so ago, her hands bloody as usual. Arthur had not taken this as a surprise, as her and Ivan had often gone on sprees like this.

"_Hello, Natalia, who have you murdered and tortured today?" He asked. The Belarusian merely rolled her violet eyes._

"_Does that concern you, __**Iggy**__?" She spat. "What Ivan and I do is none of your business. Now unless you want me to slit your throat like the Jones and Kirkland murders, I suggest you stay out of my way!" Never had Arthur wanted to kill someone so much. He wanted to strangle her and having her begging for him to let her go. He would still refuse, waiting until she went limp. How dare she mock his wife's murder and use the nickname only she (and Alfred on occasion) used? But, then again, how did Belarus know that name?_

"_Listen, Belarus," He tried to calmly say, although his teeth were still clenched tightly. "I prefer you call me England, or if you want to use personal names, Arthur."_

_Natalia merely rolled her eyes and pulled out a bloodstained, silver dagger encrusted with emeralds. As she placed it to his throat, he noticed the silver snake emblem on it. This was a crest he knew too well. That was his knife that he had given Louise… It had the extremely detailed crest and the emeralds shined in the exact same way they had when he had given it to her. He shook off the thought before he dived into another flashback. He pushed the Belarusian off of him and sternly said._

"_That's my knife. I know it is."His emerald glare was fixed hard on the woman in front of him, who was kneeling on the ground. Arthur continued talking. "I gave it to my wife, a little over 9 years ago… How did you get it?"_

_Before the Brit had gotten a decent response, Natalia ran and left the dagger behind. Arthur picked it up, and examined the blood on it. Wiping it off cleanly, he placed it safely in his pocket. Now, he was alone in the dismal streets, stuck wondering exactly how Natalia had gotten that knife…_

Of course, now, it had all fit together. Natalia knowing his name, her having his dagger, it all made sense. If he had known she was the monster who killed him and Alfred's wife, he would have killed her at that moment. He felt a large hand grab his shoulder.

"Hey, Artie, are you okay?" Arthur turned around and caught himself looking into deep blue eyes, partially covered by sandy blonde hair.

"Yes?" He asked, looking into his old friend's face. "Oh, I'm fine, Alfred. Thank you for asking." The next thing he knew, Alfred had pulled him into a warm embrace and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Glad to hear it, Artie!" Alfred pulled away from the clasp and gave a sweet smile. They heard a sound like porcelain shattering. "Sounds like a saucer breaking. We should probably go back into the living room before George breaks anything else!"

When they got into the living room, they did see a small, delicate plate shattered. However, that's not exactly what caught their attention. Arthur dropped his tea, the mint green cup hitting the floor and shattering, and the tea spilled all over the floor. He caught sight of George's strawberry-blonde hair, mixing with the dark brown hair of… Elizabeth. The two were deep in a kiss, not pulling away until Arthur had to shout at his daughter.

"**WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING?**" He bellowed. Elizabeth and George quickly pulled away, and folded their hands neatly on their laps.

"'Ello, dad… I believe you've met George," Elizabeth laughed awkwardly, blushing so furiously her face was bright red.

"Yes. I know George." With one large stride, Arthur went back into the kitchen. Alfred followed.

"Well, _that_ was unexpected!" He cheerily laughed, flipping through a comic. Sometimes Arthur hated the way his best friend had always made things seem smaller than they actually were.

"Honestly, Alfred!" Arthur ranted at him. "How could you act like this is no big deal? Your son has his hands all over my little girl! I mean, honestly, how uncivilized!"

A signature, obnoxious laugh came out of the mouth of Alfred F. Jones. "Honestly, Artie! Don't you remember when you were young and in love, Arthur?"

At this point Arthur realized for once in his life, Alfred had made a valid point. He had acted this way when he was their age. His spirits opened up, and for the first time in years, he let out a genuine smile and felt a warm feeling feel his insides. The old, withered heart that thought could show no more love, began to bloom.


End file.
